Hushovd no man for the worlds? Arvesen not tough enough

Courtesy of Katharina Schulz

As Tour de France green jersey winners Erik Zabel (second ) and Robbie McEwen (fifth ) sprinted for glory in Salzburg last Sunday, this year’s World Championships turned out to be the same old story for 2005 maillot vert winner Thor Hushovd of Norway. As the sprinters wound it up for the line, Hushovd was not there to compete with them, finishing a disappointing 114th to go with his 115th last year in Madrid, and 142nd at Zolder in 2002. As his trainer and former pro Atle Kvålsvoll points out, Hushovd “simply lacks the stamina for races longer than 200 km. He might have to change his training routine in that direction, and go for longer training rides with an extra tough hour at the end.”

His fellow countryman, Kurt Asle Arvesen, however, had the strength to be in the large group at the end but, in his own words, just didn’t feel tough enough for the sprint. He finished 13th - Norway's best result in the worlds since 1993, when Dag Otto Lauritzen was seventh in Oslo.